When Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler showed up for training camp in the summer of 2007, he weighed 242 pounds before settling at a playing weight of 235 pounds for the season opener. This would not last long. When the season’s final game came around, Cutler was at 202 pounds and experiencing ravenous hunger, dry mouth and fatigue.
Diagnosis and activism
After a blood test, it was revealed that Cutler had Type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition that afflicts approximately one million Americans.
When you have diabetes, your body cannot properly use the energy from the food you eat. This problem is closely tied to how your body makes and uses insulin. Insulin is a substance made in your pancreas that helps to keep your blood sugar in the normal range.
In Type 1 diabetes, the body makes little or no insulin – called insulin deficiency. There is no known cure for diabetes, though it can be controlled through proper meal planning, exercise and insulin shots.
Cutler decided to use the large platform that comes with being an NFL Pro Bowl QB to raise awareness about the disease and demonstrate to children that they can still succeed with diabetes. Through the Jay Cutler Foundation, established after the 2007 season, he helps charities and organizations that support the cause.
Summer camp program
Cutler recently became an ambassador for Eli Lilly and Company’s “Inspired by Diabetes” campaign. Lilly is a leading diabetes research company that introduced the world’s first commercial insulin as a treatment for diabetes in 1923.
Inspired by Diabetes is a philanthropic initiative that uses art to provide diabetes summer camp scholarships for kids in the U.S. Globally, the program contributes to providing care for children with diabetes in developing countries.
The campaign encourages all people touched by diabetes, particularly children and their families, to share their stories through visual and written creative expressions such as art, essays, poems or photography.
“I’m honored to join the Inspired by Diabetes campaign to help people tell their stories of dealing with diabetes — and help kids who need it,” said Cutler in a statement. “This is a great way to reach people affected by this condition, and I’m looking forward to connecting with more families dealing with the ups and downs of this lifelong challenge.”
For each entry into the contest from the U.S., Lilly will donate money to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), in Cutler’s honor, for scholarships for children from lower-income families to attend ADA diabetes camps.
The 2009 Inspired by Diabetes contest is accepting entries until March 31. The U.S. grand prize winners will win a trip to an Inspired by Diabetes celebration event at the ADA’s annual meeting in June in New Orleans, La.
Over 25 countries are participating in the Inspired by Diabetes campaign. For each entry from around the world, Lilly provides funds to support the care of children with diabetes in the developing world through the International Diabetes Federation’s “Life for a Child Program,” which provides access to diabetes care in some of the world’s poorest countries.
More information
www.inspiredbydiabetes.com
www.jaycutler.org
